Aafia Siddiqui and WikiLeaks

JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: Fresh revelations from WikiLeaks have confirmed what many rational-minded people have thought all along about Dr Aafia Siddiqui. However, for reasons better known to them, several Pakistani political and religious parties have long been protesting against the prison sentence handed down to Dr Siddiqui and, in doing so, have sought to incite the general public to acts of violence.

According to the WikiLeaks so-called ‘Guantanamo Files’, she plotted to smuggle explosives into America and also offered technical expertise to manufacture biological weapons. It is said that this information was provided by senior al Qaeda leaders but that this cannot be verified by independent sources.

However, the circumstantial evidence is enough to make any sensible person think that there must be some truth to these charges. Also, I would hope that those who have since long been vociferously pleading for Aafia’s innocence should now stop their shenanigans. They should refrain from carrying out any further protests and disrupting the lives of ordinary citizens.

Masood Khan

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2011.